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Dr. Smith appeared as
Dr. Smith appeared as if he had not aged at all, even though he seen 11 presidents and 64 years go by. The make shift laboratories and workrooms in the old potash mine in New Mexico long been abandoned and while the rumors and conspiracy crowd suspected UFO’s to be stored at Area 51, the real secret lay not hidden in a remote desert anymore but right in New York. (It was located now ...; not sure about that but sounds better to me with a little extra) Deep in the bedrock utilizing an abandoned Subway station and the randomly chosen name Project Armadillo had changed to AXIOM (All Xeno Intelligence Operations Monitors) and was an above top-secret department of the NSA. Every morning he took the 9 subway from his nice Tribeca home, and made it after switching a few trains to Nevin Street Station. And like every morning he purchased copies of the sensational tabloids as well as a copy of the New York Times. He had adjusted his appearance with the fashion of the times and even though he was a regular, no one in particular would really remember him. Except perhaps the proprietors of an old Bagel bakery that somehow survived the Starbucks, Donut places and the modern Bagel houses, because here he purchased his “Bagele mit lox und Schmier” for the last fifteen years. And like every morning he took the slow hydraulic elevator. It carried regular passengers from the street level down to the regular platform. Inside he was scanned and observed and after he put his thumb on the up button, which was also a hidden biometric scanner, the cabin descended much faster and further than it would with civilians. Right at the Entrance to AXIOM HQ he was scanned once more and his identity verified. He considered himself to be Terran but deep down he could not completely deny his Pan Saran origin, and because of this he loved military precision and punctuality. AXIOM worked flawlessly and efficiently and not in small part due to the rules he set in place. The screening process for Agents and Specialist working for AXIOM was second to none on the entire planet and it resulted that only the very finest, the very best men and women worked here. His Secretary Lora Grayson for example, she met him at precise 9:07 after the ID verification tunnel. She took his papers and the bag with the bagels, placed them inside a bin that would travel over tracks of an intelligent transport system and deliver its cargo to his office and almost with the same move handed him the daily Activity Report. A thin green folder, sealed with a paper band stamped: Top Secret/TSI-UMBRA-Day Code Verified. He broke the seal and while he walked, opened the folder. Ever since the days underneath the mountains of New Mexico, it contained one single sheet of typed information. The only copy of this page was delivered daily to the Director of the NSA and he would decide if there was information in it the President needed to see. (Not every president had seen these documents or knew about AXIOM, only those who passed the rigors of a Single Scope Background Investigation, the most intense Security clearance check known to man.) Usually he would make his daily round through all the departments, but he stopped dead in his tracks. There were two pages today! Lora Grayson actually walked seven more steps before she realized her Boss had stopped reading. Then he went straight to his office and said.” Department Staff meeting in 5 minutes, Ms. Grayson and be so kind and switch the board from “Guarded” blue to “High” Amber.” Just like the Department of Homeland security AXIOM had a color-coded Threat board, from Green over blue to yellow, amber and red. Plasma screens in every office, lab and corridor displayed that board at all times. It had never been switched to anything higher than Blue. -- The oval shaped conference table in the Conference room had room for twenty and all twenty Department heads had made it within the five minutes, except Dr.Isah, but he arriving in six minutes was considered a small miracle since he was the only one who didn’t pay much attention to the military precision Dr. Smith liked so much. Dr. Smith overlooked it as usual and said. “Our Argus Satellite system picked up High Energy Activity near El Paso, Texas. Energy activity associated with Directed Energy weapon fire. The observing satellite was slaved and its orbit changed to make high resolution pictures and this is what we got.” He activated a big view screen and everyone could see a SUV of some kind, a white passenger car, a collection of motorcycles and a large group of people. The next image showed a bright glowing field that blurred out everything. Dr. Smith explained.”The Satellite camera was set to highest magnification, but ground heat emission from the desert caused the images to be blurred somewhat and then the sudden sun bright energy flash overloaded the system and destroyed the camera. We redirected a Global Hawk drone used by the Border Patrol to check for Illegal Immigrants and drug traffic nearby and it arrived only 20 minutes later above the scene.” The SUV and everything was gone, except for a dozens of clearly visible torch marks in the ground, and a 10 meter wide shallow crater. There was dead silence in the room. Dr. Smith stemmed his fists on the table surface and gazed at each of them.” Ladies and Gentlemen we had some minor activity here and there over the last six decades. We know of the Ferons watching this planet and sending small observation space craft. We know they have abducted humans and taken samples of other Terran life, but this is something completely different. A battle was fought there, with highly advanced weapons far beyond our technological capabilities.” Dr. Isah simply spoke when he felt like it and never asked for permission to do so. No one not even Dr. Smith would chastise him for it, as this man was perhaps the most brilliant mind ever. One could actually spend 5 minutes just to say all the doctor and professor titles this man had amassed before his name. He even looked like every child thought an absent minded professor should look, complete with a wild mane of hair and a huge mustache.” I just went over the Satellite data in my mind and if I calculated it right then the Energy released down there is equivalent of almost a 1 Kiloton bomb, adding all the individual energy flashes up with that final big flash at the end.” Jan Burns, head of the Xeno Assault Response Team raised his hand.” Sir?” Dr. Smith nodded. “I think I should immediately take my Strike team to Texas and investigate the site.” “I concur Mr. Burns. I authorize full deployment. I arrange cover with the local Military. There is an Air Force base in Clovis that will simulate an exercise or accident in that area so you can work unobstructed and unobserved, if needed.” Burns cold eyes sparkled.” We will find those aliens and capture or neutralize them.” -- Peter and his two guests sat on the porch before his house around a weathered wooden table. The Ranger had just placed bottles of beer on the table.” I am defrosting some Steaks, but it will be a while. I did not plan to have visitors before I left for vacation.” Wolf took the bottle and after a few tries managed to twist the cap off. First he sniffed on it then he took a small sip. His eyes lit up and he drained half the bottle and said.”By Supra this is awesome. That beer tastes pretty good!” Peter smiled.”Of course, it’s Lone Star. But watch how the big fellow does it! “Hey Cloud, would you show me again how you consume beer?” The alien wore a pair of Peter’s jeans and a shirt, but no hat, glasses or wig.” I observed you consuming what is in this container, but I assume you refer to this.” Peter simply stared and Wolf was equally astounded as the big alien pushed the entire bottle into his mouth. It simply disappeared in it, there was no chewing motion and he didn’t swallow either. Peter shook his head.”You better be careful on the John later. I sure hope all that glass isn’t cutting up your behind.” Once again the alien looked puzzled at him and visibly contemplated.” If I understand you correctly, you will not only consume matter, but it is later passed as waste material from yet another orifice?” Peter snapped his fingers.” Oh right I seen you naked, you don’t have…uhm..Well no bun hole for one.” Wolf laughed but with a sad look in his face.” You both are hilarious!” “You sure don’t look like you are very amused.” Peter observed. “It just hit home that I am really stuck in this time period. I have no idea how to get back and I am afraid that whatever I do might alter time and thus make what I call home nonexistent.” The Alien said.”The very moment you and the others arrived in this time, you created a new time line and new reality. The future you know will indeed never happen in this continuum. Of course there is a time and space continuum that will experience the exact events that lead to the Order of things you know, but since there are near infinite Continuums. Such a Volume is about 10 x10 x 115 meters away. Even if you could traverse that distance you would still need to find your volume.” Wolf listened.”That’s more than a googolplex. How do you know about such things? Does your species travel in time or across parallel universes?” Cloud shrugged.”I do not know what my species does. I have no memory. I simply knew what I just said.” Peter put his bottle down.” I am not sure about anything. I feel like Alice in Wonderland or Buck Rogers awaking in the 25th Century. I am a Lawman and I know I should do something about you guys, but then you actually didn’t break any laws or anything I could proof in court. Ripping the bikers to pieces and sending the rest to the moon is quite serious, but according to old Texas traditions you defended yourself and saved my life. You certainly didn’t start it.” He fished for another bottle out of the nearby Igloo Cooler.” As I said I have no idea what to do when it comes to the book. So I go by my guts. You Wulf come from the future, and you say you’re from New York and you were born on Earth. Makes you a citizen in my book, Dark Cloud here was naturalized by my uncle so to speak and that makes him more American than any pencil pusher in Austin;” he sipped from his beer.” I am no good at long speeches but you guys seem alright with me and you can stay here as long as you care till you figured out what you want to do.” Wulf also took himself another beer, while Peter shoved another bottle across the table to Cloud. This time Wulf had no problem twisting the cap.” It seems I am stuck here and this place is as good as any. Maybe I can be a Lawman like you around here. That is what I am where I come from after all.” “Well I am not sure if the Rangers are ready for a New Yorker from the future that can fly and become invisible, but then the force has changed quite a bit since when I started.” He laughed.” My Captain would probably have a heart attack if you flew through his window like Superman and ask him for an application.” “I think I will hide my true origin form the general public and we got to do something about the appearance of your tall friend here. Luckily I got most of my equipment along, including a well programmed nano factory.” Wulf made a gesture towards the house.” I will make myself useful of course and help you with your chores and I can fix things. If you want I can offer you payment for my lodging?” “Well if you want to fix things, knock yourself out. I haven’t exactly put great care in this place ever since my fiancée Linda died, but don’t insult me with offering money. You are my guests as long as you care; besides I probably would have no use for Space Dollars or whatever they use in your time.” “Well it isn’t Space Dollars but you’re right. Even though I have over 12,000 CU’s, that’s Credit Units in this CU storage. It’s absolutely worthless, but I could scan for gold. My Back up Brain just informed me that Gold is still highly valuable in this time.” “You really have a second brain, like that Crook from your time said?” “Yes, it is sort of a Personal Computer implanted into my right chest cavity.” Cloud this time opened the bottle, and drained all the beer without swallowing and then said. “The 79th Element, Gold has Value?” “Quite so!” Peter said.” You guys do not have to pay me, serious!” Cloud shrugged and said "Matter transformation is not very difficult, and put the bottle down with a solid and heavy thud. Both Peter and Wulf could not believe their eyes. The once brown glass bottle was no longer glass, but had the unmistakable glare of gold! Wolf scanned it.” I don’t know how he did it, but this is physically and chemically even in my time impossible. This is chemically pure gold! How did you do that and where did you get the added mass?” He immodestly asked. “I simply raised the matter contained in that glass container to an energy state and then made the desired matter, in this case gold, and I added some energy to retain shape and size of that bottle, very simple really.” Wolf shook his head.” I know of no species that could do something like that. Except perhaps the legendary Narth Supreme, but no one has ever made contact to them, except in the ancient stories of the Saresii. Are you Narth?” “I do not know.” “The Energy needed to make this much gold is mind staggering and you did that before our eyes without heat or visible light.” “I did not want to harm you.” Peter took the bottle.” It’s gold alright! The thing is heavy as shit!” Cloud nodded slowly.”Ah the waste material that you produce is made of the same metal?" “I wish! No, Cloud that is just an expression of course. A bad one I might add and I should watch my mouth. Teaching a visitor from outer space bad words isn’t exactly the right thing to do.” -- -- Sam Green stood behind the windows of his corner office of his law firm and looked over the magnificent view, nighttime lower Manhattan presented. He held a glass of his Vodka-Martini made with Stolichnaya Elit. The bottle was a gift of a thankful client. Of course the expensive Vodka was only the tip of the iceberg of his compensations. He checked his reflection with a pleased smile around his lips. His thousand dollar suit and tailor made shirts; silk tie fit him like he was born in it. Tall and handsome, the stuff future senators were made off. It was a great life, being a star lawyer in this magnificent city. True to his craft no ethical or emotional shackles clouded his judgment. Of course he knew Dave Phillips was as guilty as sin and a murdering sadistic son of a bitch, but he was influential and had loads of money. Dave was his client and today, the rape and murder charges were dropped and his client walked a free man. There would be a party later tonight, and Sam would of course attend. He was the star. The Phillips family was very old money and had contacts all the way to the top. His star was already burning bright and it would burn even brighter. He took a sip of his drink. Actually it had little to do with real legal finesse. He had contacts and it was easy to find out where the cops were hiding the main witness. Her unfortunate suicide before she could testify had nothing to do with luck. The expert witness of the prosecution was easy to blackmail due to his gambling debts, the rest was child play. Without their main witness and with the DNA evidence thrown out, the Judge essentially had no other choice but to dismiss the case. That Dave had killed the hooker and had killed women before, that was as certain as the sun came up every day, but who really cared? They were hookers, who would miss them anyway? That it was him who gave the order to get the main witness out of the way was just part of his job. He had done it before and would most certainly do it again. He had great plans for his future. The sudden ring of his desk phone pulled him out of his self reflecting thoughts. He turned annoyed; no one ever called him on his desk phone. He got his personal calls on his I-Phone and the rest was filtered by his staff. Claudia Saunders, his executive assistant was already gone so it could not have been her, transferring the call. He took the receiver and barked.” Hello?” There was static and then a whispering voice said.”You will sit down and use the cam-corder you find in your desk to record all your sins, ordered murders and shady deals. Do that and your death will be quick and painless. Do it not and the opposite will happen!” Sam dropped his glass and he said.” Who is this?” “I am Cherubim!” The line went dead and a heartbeat later he heard the monotone hum of the dial tone. He sat down behind his desk. It wasn’t the first time he got threat calls, hate e-mails or letters. That came with the territory, but this one was different. It was an ultimatum and the voice ordered him to admit to his crimes and the ultimatum would end by Sunrise. He was well protected of course, but he opened the drawer of his desk anyway to get his 38 special. A cold shiver ran through his body. The gun was gone; in its place were a black rose and a business card, next to a small camcorder. Only one word was printed on that card in an elegant font.”Cherubim” His hand trembled as he pulled his I-phone and speed-dialed for his driver and bodyguard. Burt was an Ex marine and as tough as they came. Burt didn't answer his phone, even though he let it ring several times. Sam went to the door. He knew Robert had to be in the office, he would chew him out for turning his phone off and falling asleep on the job. With an angry move he pulled open his office door to yell after his driver, but no words passed his lips instead the sudden shock of pure fright clutched his heart. His bodyguard stood right there before him. A thin trickle of blood coming out of his nose and his eyes turned upward. His athletic body stiff as a board fell forward and against Sam who shrieked and jumped back. Robert thumped into the soft carpet like a toppled tree. There was not a second of doubt in Sam’s mind. He instantly knew his bodyguard was dead! Someone was right here in his office, someone who replaced his gun with a rose and killed Burt. No wonder his desk phone rang, the call came from within the law firm’s rooms and not from somewhere else. He jelled:”Whoever you are, you’re messing with the wrong person!” He dialed another number on his cell, this time he got connected. ”Robert you need to come over here to the office right now and bring two or three guys with guns! Someone is trying to kill me! Someone already killed Burt!” Robert was his contact, a man who could get anything done when the money was right. The person he always called when he needed something special taken care off. “Who is trying to kill you?” asked the voice at the other end. “I don’t know. Someone called me and threatened to kill me. That someone is somewhere here in the office; you need to come right now! Even my gun is gone; all I found was a black rose and a card with the name Cherubim on it.” “Did you say you found a black rose?” “Yes, a goddamn black rose. Now quit talking and come! Burt is dead. I locked my door. I can’t hear a thing! Now quit wasting time and come!” Robert always calm and steady voice changed and Sam could hear fear in it. ” You’re screwed Sam. You’re as good as dead already. There is nothing I can do. Don’t call me again. Rest assured I will send a very nice flower arrangement to your funeral.” Robert disconnected. Sam stared at the phone in disbelief and anger, and then he dialed 911. -- Robert had many names. Among his closest friends he was Rob, his enemies rarely used his name and if so only whispered. His business partners and associates called him Mr. R. He was a section chief of the local outfit and it controlled quite a bit of turf. Some said the family business was dying and that Asians, Mexican and most of all Armenian gangs took over. It held true for much of the country, yes. But here in New York, the family was still in charge. It was an old dog, yes, but this old dog had teeth and lots of connections pampered over many decades of business. Sam Green often called him Rob and thought Robert was his friend. Robert leaned back and stared at the phone, took a deep drag on his cigar and blew the thick smoke over his desk and it wafted as thick as Hudson November fog through the air. Yes, Rob did have friends and he held that to a certain standard. Sam Green was good and he did a lot for the family and so the family returned the favor. Getting that murdering scum Phillips of the hook was a great idea. The Phillips family was very old and very rich. They would be very grateful. Private Investment banks made them influential and perfect for large scale money laundering. Something Robert wanted to suggest the next time he met Sandra Phillips, the undisputed family head who would do anything to keep her son, that sick bastard out of any sort of trouble for the good of the family name. Dennis, sat across the desk, his legs crossed wearing an expensive suit that fitted his slender frame like a glove. Almost everyone underestimated this baby faced man and quite a few went to their graves making that mistake. He was a ruthless killer who worked himself up to be the right hand man of Robert. “You look all shaken up! What was this all about, black roses and all?” He retrieved a cigarette from a silver cigarette case. With Dennis everything had to be expensive and stylish.” Why aren’t we going to see what Sam needs?” Robert put the cigar down and noticed his own hand tremble. ”You call yourself a killer and man of the world and yet you know nothing of the most lethal assassin ever?” The golden DuPont lighter clicked with a heavy metal sound, as Dennis lit his Dunhill cigarette. ”What is so special about this Cherub?” “Everything is special and different about Cherubim and you better pray that we are not on the list.” “Oh come on. This is a fortress; no one can get in here. Not even the Feds. Besides I am here. I am not a dishonorable discharged Army Ranger who lies about his service record like Burt." With these words he pulled his silenced .22 Ruger and looked at the gun with unbridled love.” Tell me more about that Cherubim, Boss!” Robert barked. “I am not in the mood to educate you tonight. I want you to find out who had that kind of money and connections to hire Cherubim!” “How much money do we talk about?” “1000 Krugerrand Coins, all up front.” “Mother of God, I'd be richer than you if you’d pay me that for every hit I done for you!” “Would you kill the President of the United States for a Million?” “I’d kill anyone for a million, but it is impossible. I never get near enough to kill that sucker.” “If Cherubim takes a contract, it does not matter who it is or where that someone is and it is always guaranteed. Now get to work! I want to know who paid all that to kill Sam Green.” -- He was still angry at his boss as he left Robert’s office, but he was neither a fool nor did he earn his notoriety being a top killer for not doing his homework and he had contacts. One of his contacts worked for the FBI and had access to all those marvelous data banks and this was where he started. He opened a secure messenger service and found his special friend available. He typed.” What do you know about an assassin or killer named Cherubim?” The answer came back.” Cherubim is the angel the Lord had put before the Garden of Eden. Cherubim is the Angel that carries Gods mighty sword with whom the world can be split. Cherubim the Angel of death!” His fingers flew over the keyboard.” Don’t give me that mystical Wikipedia crap. I am talking about a real killer.” “So am I. No one knows the true identity, but Cherubim is the number one wanted person by Mossad, CIA, FBI, KGB and pretty much every other secret organization on this planet. At the same time every one of them used Cherubim one time or the other. All you have to do is send a handwritten letter to an address in Morocco and if Cherubim is interested you will be contacted to pay 1000 Krugerrand gold coins per hit. After this is done you wait 72 hrs and whomever you wanted to be dead is dead, always!” “I need to know more! Sam Green found a black rose.” “Sam Green was found dead in his office an hour ago, along with his bodyguard and if you want to know Dave Phillips and his mother have been shot as well. The coroner said the man suffered a great deal of torture before he died. A black rose has been found with all four victims, the calling card of Cherubim.” Dennis wanted to type something but the Chat was interrupted by a pop-up, that blocked all other windows he had up. The window showed the picture of a black rose. -- Dr. Smith had not left the Situation room since the Team had left for Texas, that was six hours ago. He finally sat down to eat his now stale and rubbery Bagel when one of the Communication screens came to life and Agent Burns face came into view. He stood next to a dusty road, behind him heavily armed desert camouflage wearing men and several specialists in white hooded Coveralls using Metal detectors and other sensor equipment. ”Sir, we finished our initial survey.” “Go on with it!” “We found seven torch marks and a crater of 12 meters diameter and 3 meters deep. No radiation but sand and soil molten to glass. There are 1602 empty rifle cartridges. All NATO caliber, US Military issue and the same amount of links from a disintegrating belt. Someone fired a machine gun of some sort here very recently. This being Texas it could just be a coincident but we believe they have been fired recently and perhaps belong to the actual scene. “There are traces of blood belonging to at least 14 different individuals and we found a baby doll and a blanket. The prints on the doll belong to a Sheila Howard. She has close ties to a large Biker gang called the Warriors, most active in New Mexico and surrounding states.” There would be a complete report and a transcript, but Smith still took down notes with an old fashioned pencil, he always did.” Any lead on the SUV?” “Sir, the Satellite images were distorted somewhat from the local ground heat therefore no exact measurements or details could be made out, but we believe it is either a Ford Escape, Cadillac Escalade or Chevy Suburban. Bad news is there are a great number of these vehicles registered in this area and even more if we expand it to the three closest states.” Smith actually cursed in his native language, then said.” So basically you got nothing?” “No Sir, there are only 67 owners of such vehicles within a 150-mile radius and we are going to check on them all and do AXIOM level background checks. If one of them has any Alien background we find them.” “Alright keep me posted.” Just as Burns saluted and cut the transmission one of his aides said.”Sir, reports just come in that four people have been killed by Cherubim, right here in New York!” Smith sat down.” Can that be confirmed?” “Black Roses have been found with the victims.” “Detailed dossiers on all victims, copies of all CSI reports on my desk as soon as possible.” “Aye Sir!” Ms. Grayson served her boss a cup of coffee without him ordering it. Smith only realized that as he had the cup halfway to his mouth. His tense face lit up with a short smile. ”Thank you Ms. Grayson, it is uncanny how well you know me and anticipate my needs.” “Not uncanny Sir, long experience. Can I ask why AXIOM is so interested in an Assassin?” “Because I suspect this assassin not to be from this world, some of the feats accomplished by that killer cannot be explained, except if you assume that killer has some form of teleportation device or skill. Last year Cherubim killed Muhammad Ben Halif, you heard about that Islamic fanatic leader of course. He was killed deep in a mountain retreat, surrounded by 200 of his most trusted men, all armed to the teeth. No one saw anything. The former Commandant of the Group Solomon, a highly secretive Mossad group, stabbed with a knife in the Mossad HQ, no one saw a thing. When you send the Card to Morocco, it goes to a very old locally owned Hotel, and into the sorting box for room 100. Room 100 has been rented for 20 years, paid in advance and in gold to the owner of the Hotel. Agents and surveillance equipment of the best organizations including AXIOM have monitored who picks up the letters. With a Camera straight on the mailbox, the letter is always collected and disappears, but no one sees a thing.” She shrugged.” I am working for this outfit now for almost 20 years and I have seen things no normal human would ever think possible. Could it not just be smoke and mirrors like a very good David Copperfield or so?” “Of course it could be, and I am fully prepared to accept that. But if that Cherubim is human then I want him or her in Axiom teaching our Agents.” She took his cup and said. ”Are you going home now, Sir?” “No, Ms. Grayson. Bring me my FBI ID. I am going to check the crime scene myself.” -- Category:Fragments Category:Edited by Renaud